Celebrate the summer holidays with this patriotic Red White and Blue Poke Cake. Made with boxed cake mix and jello and topped off with some whipped cream, this cake is a flavorful dessert everyone will enjoy.
Razzle Dazzle this season with a fancy showstopping centerpiece of a cake like this one. A chilled cake dessert recipe is exactly what you need after a long hot day.
If you've never made or had a "poke cake" before, then you're in for a real treat with this jello poke cake recipe. Serve it up with some Patriotic Cookie Cups for an awesome red white and blue dessert duo.
Make sure to check out my Red White and Blue Muffins for breakfast too!
Why This Recipe Works
- It's easy to make. This 4th of July jello cake doesn't take too much prep or effort to make but it does require a few hours of chilling in the fridge to set before serving. This lets the flavors develop and the cake to turn out perfectly when sliced.
- It's colorful. Made to show off its patriotic colors of red white and blue in every slice, this cake is truly a unique experience and it's one you can customize to your party plans.
- You can make it in advance. This cake is best when it's had a day to chill in the fridge so go ahead and make it the day before your event and let it sit in the fridge waiting for its shining moment to come.
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🥘 Ingredients
White cake mix- You will need white cake mix that has been made with oil, eggs, and water as directed on the package. Assemble and bake according to the package directions for a 9x13 baking dish.
Strawberry jello- You can use any "red" colored jello but we prefer strawberry flavor.
Berry blue jello- Use blue colored jello to complete the flag's colors.
Boiling water- This is needed to activate the jello mixtures.
Cool Whip- For the topping. Note that you could use homemade whipped topping if desired.
Patriotic sprinkles- This is optional but fun! Add your favorite festive sprinkles on top as added decoration.
For specific quantities, see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make red white and blue poke cake with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Prepare the cake batter according to the package directions.
Pour into a greased 9x13 baking dish.
Bake as directed on the box.
Use the back end of a wooden spoon, a long skewer, or a chopstick to press holes into the top of the cake. You want one hole every ½ inch or so, so that the entire cake is filled with holes. Set aside.
Let the cake cool completely before using.
In a small pot, bring 1 cup of water to a boil.
Divide the water in half and add ½ cup of boiling water to one small bowl and ½ cup of it to another.
Whisk one packet of jello mix into one bowl of water and do the same with the other so that each jello is in its own bowl of warm water.
Whisk the jello in each bowl until the mixture is dissolved and no longer grainy.
Pour one color of jello mixture over the cooled cake.
Pour the other color of jello over the cake.
Place the cake in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
After the cake has chilled, add cool whip on top.
Spread the cool whip over the top of the cake to cover the jello and cake completely.
Add your patriotic sprinkles over the top.
Slice and serve. Enjoy!
📖 Variations
To make your red white and blue jello cake more unique you can:
- Garnish the top with maraschino cherries
- Use fresh blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries to decorate the top to look like an American flag
- Swirl red and blue food coloring into the Cool whip for a fun appearance.
🍴 Recipe Tips
Poke when warm
Poking holes into the cake while it is still warm is recommended to help prevent the top of the cake from cracking when you poke it. Cold or cooled cakes will crack but warm ones will not.
Ignore the jello boxes
Make sure that you ignore the instructions on the back of the box of jello. We are just using the dry mix inside of the box and we do not need their instructions because we are using our own.
You don't need all of the jello
It's okay not to use all of the jello for your cake. I do use all of it, but if you don't want to, you can turn the remaining jello into little parfaits or something by pouring it into a container and chilling in the fridge for later.
🐄 Homemade Whipped Topping
Whipping cream. If desired, you can swap out the whipped topping for homemade whipped cream. To do this, beat 1.5 cups of heavy whipping cream, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and 3 Tablespoons of powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Use in place of the whipped topping.
💭 FAQs
A poke cake is a type of cake that is baked and then has holes literally pressed all over the top of it before having a liquid (usually jello, pudding, or syrup-like consistency) over the top of the cake. It is then chilled and topped with whipped cream for a tasty chilled treat.
If you want to make this recipe into cupcakes, then go right ahead! It might be a little messy or tricky when adding the jello but if you use a straw to pinch up and drop the color into the holes, it should be a little easier. Just make the cupcakes according to the box directions in a paper liner and follow along with our instructions.
You can keep your patriotic poke cake covered in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days or you can free it for up to 3 months. To freeze it, do so after adding the jello but before adding the whipped cream topping. Place it in a tightly sealed container and thaw in the fridge overnight before adding the cool whip and serving.
More great patriotic recipes to check out soon
📖 Recipe
Red White and Blue Poke Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box (15.25-ounce) White cake mix (plus ingredients needed on box) ($1.64)
- 1 box (3-ounce) Strawberry jello ($0.48)
- 1 box (3-ounce) Berry blue jello ($1.26)
- 1 cup Boiling water ($0.00)
- 1 container (8-ounce) Cool Whip ($0.99)
- 2 Tablespoons Patriotic sprinkles ($0.42)
Instructions
- Prepare the cake batter according to the package directions for a 9x13 baking dish.
- Use the back end of a wooden spoon, a long skewer, or a chopstick to press holes into the top of the cake. You want one hole every ½ inch or so, so that the entire cake is filled with holes. Set aside. Let the cake cool completely before using.
- In a small pot bring 1 cup of water to a boil.
- Divide the water in half and add ½ cup of boiling water to one small bowl and ½ cup of it to another.
- Whisk one packet of jello mix into one bowl of water and do the same with the other so that each jello is in its own bowl of warm water.
- Whisk the jello in each bowl until the mixture is dissolved and no longer grainy.
- Alternate pouring the two jellos over the top of the cake until the entire top has been covered in colorful jello.
- Place the cake in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
- After the cake has chilled, spread the thawed cool whip over the top of the cake to cover the jello.
- Add your patriotic sprinkles over the top.
- Slice and serve. Enjoy.
Notes
- Garnish the top with maraschino cherries
- Use fresh blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries to decorate the top to look like an American flag
- Swirl red and blue food coloring into the Cool whip for a fun appearance.
Recipe Tips
- Poking holes into the cake while it is still warm is recommended to help prevent the top of the cake from cracking when you poke it.
- Make sure that you ignore the instructions on the back of the box of jello. We are just using the dry mix inside of the box.
- It's okay not to use all of the jello for your cake. I do use all of it, but if you don't want to, you can turn the remaining jello into little parfaits or something by pouring it into a container and chilling in the fridge for later.
- If desired you can make your own homemade whipped cream instead of using whipped topping. Just beat 1 ½ cups of heavy whipping cream with 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla until stiff peaks form. Then use as desired.
- If you want to make this recipe into cupcakes, then go right ahead! It might be a little messy or tricky when adding the jello but if you use a straw to pinch up and drop the color into the holes, it should be a little easier. Just make the cupcakes according to the box directions in a paper liner and follow along with our instructions.
Storage
- You can keep your patriotic poke cake covered in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days or you can free it for up to 3 months. To freeze it, do so after adding the jello but before adding the whipped cream topping. Place it in a tightly sealed container and thaw in the fridge overnight before adding the cool whip and serving.
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